A Summer to Remember

up to the table and raised my arm. I tossed my ball into the air and held my breath as I watched it arc. It landed in the cup and spun around the edge. The green-eyed guy’s friend stuck his finger in the cup and tried to pull it out, but failed, and pushed the ball into the cup. Everyone started cheering.
    “We won!” Jesse yelled as he picked me up and spun me around.
    “You’re not too bad for a girl,” my handsome opponent said as he came over to shake my hand.
    “Yeah, well, you’re not too bad yourself,” I replied.
    “What’s your name, anyway?”
    “Ava. Yours?”
    “Adrian. You go to school here?”
    “Ava!” Lily called. “I think we’re going to head over to the next house. You ready?”
    “Yeah…sure!” I yelled back in her direction.
    “We’ll meet you out front! It’s too hot in here!” She, Steven, and Jesse proceeded out the front door.
    “Okay I’ll be out in a sec!” I looked back at Adrian. “Sorry about that, but we try and stick together at these kinds of things.”
    “No problem. I’m actually heading to the next house myself. Mind if I tag along?”
    “Sure.” We made our way out of the house.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 4

    “A va! Over here!” Lily yelled across the still crowded lawn. Adrian and I made our way over.
    “Guys, this is Adrian.” I moved out of the way so they could get a good look at the hot guy standing behind me.
    “Hey! Weren’t you just on the team who’s asses got kicked by my girl Ava here?” Lily came over and put her arm around my shoulders. I could tell by the slurring in her words and failure to balance on her own that she’d had a little too much to drink. Not to mention she was smiling a little more then usual.
    “Yes, as much as I hate to admit it.” He looked down and ran his fingers through his hair. “That would be me. It’s okay, though, because next time I’ll be winning. She just got lucky this time.” He winked at me.
    “Next time, huh? That sounds like a challenge.” I couldn’t help but admire his smile, and of course those dimples.
    “Okay, guys. What house are we going to next?” Jesse sounded a little irritated. He couldn’t really be jealous of a little flirting…could he?
    “Well, we can go to the house next door. They have Jell-O shots,” Adrian suggested.
    “We love Jell-O shots! Don’t we, Ava?” Lily yelled in my ear.
    “Yes, we do, Lily. Next door we go.” Steven came over and took Lily’s hand. ‘Thank you’ I lipped to him. He just smiled and kept talking to her in an attempt to keep her distracted. Adrian and I followed them to the next house, staying a few feet behind.
    “Sorry about that. She’s had a little too much to drink tonight.” I looked at Adrian apologetically.
    “No need to apologize. She seems like a lot more fun than some of my friends when they’ve had too much to drink.” He laughed.
    As we walked up the sidewalk to the white house next door, someone ran right into me, almost knocking me over. Adrian grabbed me just as I was about to hit the ground. Next thing I knew, we were standing chest to chest and I was staring directly into those beautiful green eyes.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” I pulled away and attempted to brush the beer off my hand and arm.
    “Don’t worry. I didn’t mind.”
    I looked up. Jason was standing on the front porch of the house, staring at us. By the look on his face, he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Cally came around the corner and handed him a Jell-O shot. He took it from her and put on a show, laughing and acting like he’d never been happier. Did he really think I was going to buy that? Not a chance!
    “You know that guy?” Adrian asked, nodding in Jason’s direction.
    “Yeah, actually. We used to date, but it was a long time ago.” Okay it wasn’t really a long time ago, but after all that had happened today, it felt like a long time ago. “Anyway, how about those shots?” I grabbed his hand and led him inside, right past Jason and Cally, who were staring at us as we went by.
    Maybe I’d had too much to drink, but I felt really comfortable with Adrian. How could I feel like this with someone I just met?
    “I’m going to find the bathroom. You wanna grab us some shots?” he asked.
    “Sure. I’ll go find Lily and Steven. They’re probably in the backyard. You just want to meet me back there?” I looked around the room to see if I could spot where the drink station was set